In a dingy cellar in a dismal part of England, a young queen crept in through a cracked window, a burlap bag clenched between her teeth. She squeezed through and jumped gracefully down to the dusty floor. Her fur was matted and bald in places, other spots were crusted with blood. She was raggedy and tattered, but her beauty shone in her big blue eyes. She was covered in patches that looked to be ranging from white, through gray to black and in between. She resembled a particular jellicle, a certain Victoria, in body type; slender, agile, with a bit of curve. But you could never tell with all the dirt and wear on her coat. Her whiskers were amazingly well-kept, as were her long, naturally black lashes. she dropped the bag on the floor, which emitted a puff of dust at the impact. She sneezed and covered her bloodshot eyes, hoping desperately that the dust would spare her this once. Amazingly, the dust settled back in an instant. She blinked rapidly, amazed, but it was all forgotten as the sound of heavy footsteps grew quickly closer. The cat recoiled in horror, shrinking into a shadowed corner as the red-outlined silhouette of her master stalked in. She held her breath as he lifted the rough bag in his paw and opened it. He was reddish and black, and many other colors, you saw them although they were not totally visible, they were the colors of evil. He was tall and sleek, although his whiskers curled wildly, his fur was dusty and untrimmed. His claws were long and black and sharp- she knew this fact all too well. The stench of evil, of bad deeds and death followed him wherever he went.

"Girl..!" He growled.

"Y-yes, M-Macavity s-sir..." she approached him meekly, her head bent.

"What is this?" He held out a large diamond.

"I-it’s the-the..H-hope d-diamond, s-sir..." she whimpered.

"I told you at least three diamonds." He said, the rage in his voice rising like bubbles in a boiling pot.

"I-I’m s-sorry, the-the other k-kittens, th-they didn’t l-leave any except f-for th-this one..s-sir." she stuttered, bracing herself for the oncoming blow. It came. Macavity put the gem back in the bag and slammed it into her face, she felt sharp edges poke her from inside the rough burlap, she felt a trickle of something warm from her nose, and she knew she had at least one black eye. She bowed her head in submission.

"That’s right, you can never leave." He growled. "Remember your promise." He left. The cat looked at the small crease of light that shone on the dust-covered floor. Ever since he had killed her parents, the entire litter had been forced to work for Macavity. One promise kept her here, but that promise was easily honored, so long as she returned to the lair. She jumped lightly up to the window and slipped out of the musty, dark cellar and into the morning light of day.

She limped past a few tall buildings, a trail of blood zigzagging behind her. She was trying to cross a street when her legs gave out. She was an open target on the big white line. The ‘walk’ sign switched to ‘don’t walk’. A car was coming, a big, roaring, metal monster! She struggled to stand, but too much blood lay in trails behind her and not in her veins. She collapsed. She knew what was coming, she clenched her eyes tight. And just when the thundering machine was ready to pass over her and send her to her grave, something happened.

She slowly opened her eyes.

"Hello, little one." A tuxedo cat looked down at her with beautiful blue eyes, she blinked. She was in a big sewer with two ledges on either side of the drainage. Her head was in this strange cat’s lap and he had a paw holding one of hers over her heart. A strange smell touched her nose, she wiggled it to identify the scent. It smelled like a junkyard, like lots of nice cats. Of warmth and friendliness and - "Are you all right?"

These were the Jellicles.

Macavity had warned her of these cats. She remembered his harsh words, his foul breath as her told her if he ever caught her with the Jellicles, he would kill her and every one of the tribe as well.

"No, er, yes, I have to leave.." she stood shakily and stumbled, but did not sit back down. The cat stood and wrapped his arms around her waist to balance and restrain her.

"You cannot leave yet, little queen."

"I ain’t no little queen." She grumbled, struggling weakly to free herself. His touch sent shivers down her spine and electricity streaking and crackling though her veins.

"That might be true, but you cannot go in this condition." He let go and she sank to the ground, he caught her arm and laid her down. "I cannot heal you. I am not allowed to restore felines who are not certified Jellicles. I am sorry, I shall take you to the prince, and he shall decide what action I should take." He explained. His eyes were so deep, she felt they went on forever. She looked away from his soft gaze.

"I’ll do whatever I want, be it leaving, or catching Maca-" she stood, acting strong, but trailed off as she realized it was not drainage in the sewer, but the clearest water she had ever seen. "..vity..." she closed her mouth.

"There are things he never told you, young miss, things you could not imagine. We could free you, we could help if you gave us the chance." His voice floated over her. She widened her eyes and turned to face this strange feline. He smiled and walked up to her so he was standing at her side. "Look.." he gestured to the water. She peered into her reflection, finding her patches were changing from black to midnight blue, all the grays were becoming different shades of blue, as well! She stood, her mouth agape. She now had midnight blue ranging to white patches with all the blues in between all over her body. Her fur became sleek and beautiful, until it was perfect and as it should have been if it was well kept. She was no longer the raggedy gray, black, and white cat that had worked for Macavity. She felt invigorated, but terror jackhammered in her chest, her heart raced in fear. She swallowed thickly and tried to back away, but found her feet were too heavy to lift.

"You were always one of us, I could tell, you were just raised in hate towards us, once those feelings changed..." The tuxedo cat gestured to the water. ‘So did you. And, if you are trained correctly, you will one day take my place as the magical cat in our tribe." He finished his explanation. she shook her head.

"No, I am Macavity’s kitten." she denied. "No, I am one of Macavity’s children!" she covered her ears and shrieked these words as if the truth caused more pain than she could bear. Blue tears ran from her eyes, which were squeezed shut. She crouched, her head bent, her ears covered, her eyes closed, shaking her head in sadness. "I am....." she moaned.

"No you are not!" The cat said forcefully, grabbing her wrists with surprising strength and pulling her roughly to her feet.

"I am and I will always be!" she yelled defiantly in his face, a knot of ache growing in her chest. She wanted more than anything to be with these cats, but she could not risk their safety. He let go of her wrists, shoving her back a bit.

"Then go." he motioned to the entrance. "Go back to your ‘father’. Get away." he grumbled, turning away from her. She closed her eyes and nodded, turning and slowly walking away.

 

"He did WHAT?!" Macavity roared, lifting her by the arm and throwing her ten feet, she slammed into the brick wall and fell, motionless, to the floor where the dust swirled up and around her, her breathing shallow and uneven. Macavity glared, a fire rising in his eyes. "Get up." he growled. "GET UP!!" He kicked her up against the wall, hearing a satisfying crack as her ribs splintered. He chuckled and left. For a long time the cat lay motionless, blood oozing from unseen cuts. Her breathing inadequate, her heartbeat too slow to support life. the window slid open and three cats crept quietly in. The first was a Black one with leapord spots and a fluffy mane, the second was white with black patches, and the third was the cat from the sewer.

"My god, I knew he was cruel, but I never imagined, man..." the first cat whispered, looking around. The basement was dark and dirty, mold grew everywhere, dust coated the entire area, and there were cracks in the cement and bricks where Macavity’s slaves had hit the walls or floor. There were big, brown, crusty blotches on the floor that were already collecting dust, and it smelled like rotting meat and blood. The tom glanced around and spotted something in a heap on the floor. It was mostly brown but a bit of blue was in patches here and there. The second cat crept over and nudged it.

"I think it’s...a cat.." he said, peering down at it. There was almost no movement, save for the slight rise and fall of her chest. It was the young queen.

"Oh, heavyside, please tell me she hasn’t already, like, died, man!? She’s gotta be alive…" the first said. Alonzo put an ear to her chest. he could hear a faint, slow, uneven heartbeat. He nodded.

"Barely. It’s a gift she lasted this long. Misto, what did you want her for?" Alonzo looked over at the tuxedo cat from the sewer, her was looking on with pain in his eyes.

"She just..." Misto began. "She is a jellicle. She is, but I don’t know why I wanted to go to this trouble, it’s just a feeling... I have..." he tried to explain but stopped and shook his head. "Nevermind."

"Okay, Alonzo, do you have her?" the Black asked. Alonzo nodded and lifted her in his arms.

"I will transport us back, seeing as we do not have much time to spare and cannot go out the window while carrying her anyway." Misto said, and closed his eyes, and they disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

When they reappeared, they were right outside the junkyard, and it was late. Misto healed the queen, who’s fur began to sparkle. Her eyes fluttered open and she almost screamed, Alonzo cupped his hand over her mouth.

"Shhhhh." he whispered, her eyes were wide with fear, but when she saw Misto she slowly relaxed.

"Hello again." He smiled, Alonzo removed his hand. It was amazing, but the queen seemed to know it was Misto who was responsible for her revival. She threw her arms around him and he was stunned for a moment, but then he smiled kindly.

"Thank you." she whispered, blue tears wetting the tuxedo mark on his chest. He stroked her head.

"You will stay with us, then?" He asked.

"Yes." she swore.

"And we will free you of Macavity, forever. He has no power as long as I have say in it." Alonzo said forcefully. "Right guys?"

"Of course. Macavity is an enemy of our tribe, he sucks, dude." Tugger put in. The cat sniffed, tears of happiness spilling over her face.

"What are your names?" She inquired when she had regained composure.

"I am Mistoffelees, this is Rum Tum Tugger, and that is Alonzo." Misto introduced himself and his friends.

"I am Leighlei." The cat said, bowing gracefully.

"You will be a jellicle in the time of six months three nights." Misto instructed. Leighlei nodded.

"All right."

"In six month’s time, you shall meet the tribe. You must prove yourself a jellicle by surviving that long without us, on your own. I must erase every memory we have given you, save for the time and place you must come back here." He waved his hand over her face and she began to feel sleepy. "Until then, sweet dreams, young queen." Misto smiled kindly once more, then the three disappeared into the shadowy junkyard. Leighlei watched them for awhile after they were gone, then curled up and eased into a sweet sleep.

Months passed and the queen grew limber and agile. Stronger, sleeker, and more sinewy. She now was roaming the streets of London, and her fur had grown back and she was clean. Her fur was shiny, as if sprinkled with glitter, and she was one of the most clever queens on the streets. All the people knew her, and they called her ‘kitty’, which she hated. They were amazingly friendly, though, always giving her fish bones and scraps of meat. One day, she was trotting down an alleyway on the north side of town, six and a half months had passed, she was headed back to t he junkyard.

"Fashionably late, late, late." She muttered, hopping over knocked-over garbage cans, she was crossing under a balcony in a dumpy apartment complex when she heard a rumble behind her.

"Who are you?" A voice growled. The cat turned to find a large black Great Dane staring down at her, and yet she was not scared.

"Leighlei." She responded.

"Oh?" The dog was impressed, never seeing a cat bold enough to answer him. She could tell he was old and wise, and was just doing his job.

"Yes. Do you have a name?" She asked, weaving in and out of his legs with fluid grace.

"It’s Aquarius." He answered.

"Nice to meet you, well, I’m new here in this part of town, so I best be on my way." She lied. " I’ll visit, if you’d like." She smiled and looked up at him.

"That would be grand." He smiled gently and watched her jump up on the old brick wall at the end of the street. "Watch out, that is where the Jellicles live, in that junkyard. Other cats, they are." He warned. She looked at him for a moment, furrowed her brow and nodded. She felt a strange feeling of de ja vu, but brushed it off, and disappeared over the grimy blockade.

Leighlei padded down the deserted ghetto lot behind Aquarius’ home. It was full of old junk. She wrinkled her nose as the smell of another cat wafted towards her. She had forgotten this, she had forgotten everything. A faint memory of this smell dislodged itself from the back of her mind and tickled at the thinking part, but she couldn’t remember enough of it to bring it to reason.

"Who’s there?" She called. A pair of blue eyes peered out at her from the darkness. She sat down and lifted an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" A voice asked coolly.

"I asked first." She retorted, licking her paw nonchalantly. A large gray tabby tom stepped out of the shadows. His fur pattern resembled hers except it was gray and black.

"But you are in our territory." He maintained calm.

"And?" She said flatly, but was grabbed from behind. Strong arms pinned hers down, and the tom stood over her.

"Who. Are. You ?" He persisted. She gave him a sly look, and with amazing strength for such a small queen, gave him a swift, sharp kick in the jaw. He scratched her across the nose.

"Leighlei. Nice to meet you.’ She said sarcastically, looking away.

"What is happening to your face?" He turned her face to him with his hand, the cut was closing by itself. "Let her go." He motioned to the two females holding her down. One was tall and red, the other was shorter and gold and black. They both looked to be queens with experience. Leighlei just looked up with her eyes, not moving her face in defiance. ‘He knows me.’ She thought, staring at the tom. ‘He knows me but he’s pretending he doesn’t. He knows me knows me knows me knows knows knows.’

"She smells funny.." The tall one wrinkled her nose. "It’s very peculiar- she has a scent similar to yours, Munkustrap." She looked at he tom quizzically.

"She has been in contact with - Macavity.." The shorter queen hissed as if she was afraid of the name.

"Who-?" The tom- Munkustrap- took a step towards Leighlei. Her eyes followed him. He sniffed the air around her. " We do smell the same." He sat in front of her, his eyes boring into hers. "We’re related." He said. "Siblings." As if stating a fact, suggesting it as a fact to her.

"Whoa! No, I can’t be related to you!" She stood and turned to rush back to Aquarius, to tell him these cats were wacky, but the tom grabbed her tail.

"I am Munkustrap, these are Demeter," he gestured to the shorter queen, " And Bombalurina." the taller queen raised her eyebrow and nodded.

"Wonderful, we do smell the same." She caught the scent of the cat, the scent of her brother. "Great." she sat down.

"Come." He guided her back to the junkyard. "You are one of us."

"Hey Munku, who is this?" A tabby with a white spot over his eye bounded up.

"I’m Leighlei" She swatted Munkustrap’s paw off her shoulder. "And I have absolutely no clue where I am but I am sure I do not want to be here."

"Oh, nice to meet you..er...Leighlei and...um....I have absolutely no idea where I am but I...oh I’m all mixed up!!" The tom covered his ears and whined.

"Nononono......" She pulled a paw off one ear. "It’s just Leighlei, my name is Leighlei!"

"Oh, okay." He immediately straightened and smiled crookedly. "I’m Pouncival, but most people call me Pounce or Pouncy...." He looked around. "Okay then, bye!" he ran off.

"The ball is in a few days, then you will be a true jellicle.." Demeter whispered and slunk off with Bombalurina.

"See you then, sister..." Munkustrap murmured and then was gone.

"Okay... strange..." she padded into the yard. He knew who she was, she could tell.

"Hey, who are you?!" A group of kittenish queens gathered around her instantly.

"Ahem...you first." She sat down and smiled as they each sounded off.

"Etcetera, I’m Etcy!" A light pastel queen piped up.

"I’m Electra...Ellie for short!" An orange and black tabby queen said brightly.

"I’m Jemima, but most people call me Sillabub.." A mostly black calico said softly.

"I’m Victoria." A white queen scoffed and turned to leave.

"Okay, have fun screwin’ yourself!" Leighlei remarked to the white, who looked stunned. The rest of the kittens giggled.

"Ever since she danced with Plato at the ball last year she’s been all like ‘I’m better than you!’" Sillibub laughed. Vic blushed.

Leighlei smiled. "I’m Leighlei. Apparently your ‘Prince’ has been sniffing to many weeds because he thinks I smell like a relation of his." She turned.

"Hey, how come you’re blue?" Etcetera tugged her tail.

"I had an accident with toilet bowl cleaner and some glitterglue."

"Really?" Electra’s eyes widened.

"No, not really." Leighlei rolled her eyes and padded off.

"Jellicle Cats!" Old Dueteronimy declared. "Please, listen and take heed!" He sat on the tire beside the Prince, Munkustrap, who looked at him. The wise, old leader nodded and Munkustrap began.

"Cats, the ball will be held in three days." He announced, the cats chorused in cheers, whoops, and shouts of joy. "We will be having an initiation." He continued after the riot had calmed. The Rum Tum Tugger growled and licked his lips.

"Any hot babes we toms should know about, oh mighty prince?" He said in his most cocky manner. All the toms chuckled and grinned.

"No, you’ve already been initiated, Baby." Bombalurina slipped her arm around his waist and they tongued for an extended period of time. All the cats began to get queasy and make gagging noises.

"Euww! Tha’s jus gross, eh Mungo’?" Rumpleteazer asked her brother and partner in crime.

"Oy, luv, oi neva’ seen anyone go tha’ long wi’ ou takin’ a breth." He answered.

"They’re breathing through their noses, you idiots!" Victoria spat playfully.

"Okay, do you mind people? I am trying to make a speech here!" Munkustrap tried to get their attention again. Tugger and Bomb didn’t listen, only left to go to a more private place.

"AS I was saying, a new queen will be initiated, her name is Leighlei. She is new around here so you all be kind to her until then. That will be all." Munkustrap nodded and the crowd dispersed.

"What queen?" Cassandra asked, Munku grinned.

"Find out for yourself, Cass." he said slyly and slunk off. She sighed and shook her head.

"Hey, look over there!" A voice said, soon the yard was alive with whispers and pointing fingers. At the entrance stood a magnificent creature. She had patches ranging from midnight blue to white all over her sleek, curvy body. Her beautiful, large, sparkling, blue eyes were clear and her nose a cute baby pink. It was Leighlei, who had left the day before after she had told the kittens off to prepare for her first impression.

"Hello." she said softly.

"Woah, it’s that freaky cat." Sillabub whispered to Exotica, who nodded and giggled.

"She’s even more freaky now!" She agreed. Leighlei glared at them and they shut their mouths.

"I think she’s gorgeous, I want to be that pretty when I get to be her age." Etcetera swooned sarcastically. Electra laughed loudly. Leighlei narrowed her eyes and backed up a few paces. She was ready to jump on a cat, any cat, and scratch their eyes out of their heads. She felt a soft touch on her shoulder and turned to see the white face of a tuxedo tom.

Mistofellees.

She remembered. Everything. Everything before she had met the cats, everything after. Her eyes widened as one thought rushed up behind them. Macavity, and her promise. The promise no one knew but the promise everyone was a part of. The promise she had not considered before but now saw as a crucial part of not becoming a member of the tribe. The promise. The sad, sad promise that kept her away from her brother and all of these cats, that kept her from the light and love and hope and a future.

Her promise

Leighlei suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of grief. She turned away from all the cat and fled, to a shadowy patch of used carpet behind an old car engine, unseen by any part of the junkyard, where a puddle of blue tears formed below her quickly. In an instant, Mistoffelees was by her side, a comforting arm over her shoulder.

"Do not despair, little miss." He said softly. She pulled away from him.

"What do you know about despair? Or pain, or, or heartbreak?" she asked in an accusing tone. Turning n him suddenly in anguish. "How would you know if someone was dying on the inside? Why would you care? You don’t know anything about hardship, or loneliness, or sadness. You are a bad excuse for a magician, you are a pampered, sheltered old tomcat and I wish you had left me to die in that cellar!" She shouted, tears making rivulets down her sparkling fur. "Because I know all about it. I know how it feels to promise someone something that hurts you more than death! But what would you know about things like that? Like what it’s like to feel that you are alone and abandoned, and whatever people say, know it is always true? To not know love, or friendship? To never have had experienced actual happiness?" She said in disgust. "The only happiness I ever felt was when I was dying, because I knew there would be no more pain ever again..." she whispered. She turned from him and ran away, out of the junkyard, but was stopped as Misto appeared before her.

"I will not read your mind." He said forcefully, She held her head high and stood her ground in a fighting stance. "I cannot. You have set up blocks."

"Good." she growled through clenched teeth. "I want to be alone. I want to die in peace!" She tackled him and as a defense he scraped his claws across her face and used his powers to slam her against a nearby cement wall. Then he stopped and realized now he was no different from Macavity. But amazingly, Leighlei stood, weakly, she staggered to him. "Do you really want to know my secret?" she whispered hoarsely, practically collapsing at his feet. She had an insane, final grin on her face that made Mistoffelees pause. Nevertheless, he crouched beside her to steady her.

"Yes, I only want to free you from whatever past plagues you." He responded kindly.

"I swore myself to Macavity." She murmured after a long pause.

"What?!" He grabbed her shoulders and stared at her face. Her eyes were deep pools of heartache. She swallowed thickly. "Why?! Why would you promise yourself to him after what he did to you?" Misto interrogated her.

"It was in return for the freedom of someone, I swore to him that if he never hurt them again and set him free, I would be his forever." She hung her head.

"So? We can defeat him! We can free you of this awful pact!" He gripped her shoulders tightly but she shook her head.

"Then that person would be too close. He would kill him. You see, I promised my life in return for the freedom of...of..." she began to stammer as a knot formed in her throat.

"Who?! Tell me!" He shook her a little and she burst out crying.

"In return for the freedom of my brother the Jellicle prince Munkustrap!" She spat loudly. Misto let go of her, his eyes wide. "If he catches me being one of you, he will kill all of you. Just free me to my promise. I am not worth the lives of all these cats." She gestured to the junkyard.

"Get out." Mistoffelees growled. "We do not need cats that work for Macavity here." He stood before her, ready to attack. He knew he could not allow his fatherly love for this queen kill the entire tribe. "GO!" He roared. she hung her head and nodded weakly. He hissed. She turned and walked slowly away.

"Misto, where is she?" Munkustrap asked urgently, running up to his friend.

"I don’t know." Misto shook his head sadly. "But she can’t come back. Not ever."

Leighlei leapt over the blockade and landed on her feet. She ran, the moon was covered by clouds, swelling with rain. She kept running until the clouds burst, and she had to find shelter. She could smell the salty water of the sea and knew she was close to her destination, the docks.

She was hopping a ship out of London.

She crawled into a garbage can and lay down, shivering and weeping silently. She shut her eyes to block out the painful memories, but it only made them more vivid. She wept bitterly, but looked up as she heard a crash from the alley. She tensed and bared her teeth, ready to attack anything that came her way. She waited, breathing heavily, and then an orange patched, calico face peeped in on her, followed by another, similar one.

" ‘Ello, luv." Said a Cockney voice she had hoped to never hear again.

"Mungojerrie." She smirked and relaxed just a bit.

"Wot, no cheery greetin’ fer me?" Rumpleteazer, his sister eand partner in crime, asked. Leigh gave Teazer a half smile.

"Well, you weren’t exactly the one who had orders to mate with me, were you?"

"Ow, tha’ one ‘urt!" Teazer exclaimed. Mungo blushed. Leigh smiled and scooted over, signaling to them that they could come in out of the rain. Mungo did first, cautiously sitting beside her, so close their front legs and shoulders were pressed together slightly, then Teazer laid herself down carefully on her stomach near the mouth of the garbage can.

"So, did tuxedo boy send you?" She adressed them cynically, looking at Mungo out of the corner of her eye. He had not been her mate, he had been her friend, and told her what Macavity had ordered him to do. Rather than see him get hurt for not doing their master’s bidding, she offered herself to him. But, instead of doing it, he accepted the beating from Macavity for not following orders. He had suffered to let her maintain her dignity, suffered so she would not be violated.

"Actually…no." Teazer said off-handedly, not looking at Lei, but the rain as she spoke. "We came ‘o our own choice."

"For what? To drag me off to Macavity and collect a reward?"

"Don’t tempt me!"